


Natural Disaster: Cracked

by ScripturientScorpion



Series: Natural Disaster [2]
Category: Pentatonix
Genre: Apocalypse, Europe, F/M, Gen, Natural Disaster, Post-Apocalypse, cracked - Freeform, earthquake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-04-14 09:42:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4559868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScripturientScorpion/pseuds/ScripturientScorpion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been two years since Avi and Launa made their journey from Grand Junction, Colorado to Los Angeles, California, and everything appears to be going well. A happy ending- from the outside. Life isn’t perfect. Sometimes the regular life things are enough to rock their world apart, and sometimes it’s the earth that shakes the group to their foundation. And sometimes, both leave them broken and cracked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

She should have seen this coming.

 

_She should have seen this coming._

 

Miles away. Thousands of miles.

 

Everything was going too well. Life was _too good_. They were _too happy._ And Gods, she knew better than to trust that everything was okay.

 

Nothing was ever okay for that damned long.

 

 _No no no **no**_.

 

Even after all the arguments and disagreements that left them shaking and fearing for the future, she'd still had hope today.

 

 _Things were going to be okay_. _Everything was going to work out._

Launa stared dead ahead, eyes staring blankly ahead at the chasm stretching out before her. Dublin ripped almost directly in half, the pieces of its citizens and streets crumbling into the gap betwean north and south.

 

Ruined. Everything was ruined.

 

The abyss flooded with sea water, drowning those who had survived the fall. Survivors up at the top searched for a way across.

 

Kirstie and Mitch held on tight to one another, muttering small comforts in the space between them. Esther was trying to keep them and herself calm by talking- _talking, talking, she's always fucking **talking**_ \- and Launa? She stood silent and willed herself empty. Willed herself blank to cope with the onslaught of panic that brimmed just under the surface.

 

The ground beneath their feet trembled with the aftershocks of a quake that should never have happened there.

 

Scott, Kevin, and Avi were nowhere to be found.

 


	2. Chapter 2

The group of them checked over each other with whispered 'are you alright?'s and 'are you hurt?'s. The din of the area was deafening- she knew that had to be the case, what with everyone running around and panicking. Surely, there must be some noise.

 

The only sound in Launa's ears was a high-pitched ringing, drowning out any and all noise from the outside. She felt drugged, almost in a stupor. _I don't remember hitting my head. It feels like I did, though._

_Why does everything look so strange?_

Light-headedness overtook her brain and nothing felt real. Like it was all a horrible dream. Surreal and silent.

 

Esther's hand reached out to grapple at her sleeve, asking for her attention. _Why? What do you want?_

_What's going on?_

_Why am I not moving? The world is falling apart and I'm not **doing anything**. _

**_Move,_ ** _damn you!_

She barely registered the pressure of her sister-in-law's hand, her muscles rigid, joints locked. All she could seem to do was stare straight ahead. The growing chaos around her danced at the edges of her periphery and _seriously, who hit the mute button?_

Finally, after what seemed like ages, her eyes finally flicked shut for a moment. Blinking. _That's a good start._

 

The scenery came into focus bit by bit, as if her vision had gone completely black. Like she'd forgotten how to see for a moment. Big shapes and shadows, colors, and finally down to tiny pieces of rubble and splatters of blood. Crumbling buildings and asphalt, piles of bricks and structures shaken apart.

 

_Where are the others?_

_Oh Gods, where are they?_

_Kevin? Scott? Avi?_

**_Where are they?!_ **

****

_Panic. Panicpanic **panic!**_

****

_Focus, Reynolds. Worry about them later._

_Can't find them if you're dead._

Adrenaline shot into her veins, leaving her gasping for air like she'd been punched in the gut with a bulldozer. The world exploded into sharp focus, the sound of it roaring back into her ears. The sound of panic and terror, of 'dear god' and 'what do we do?'.

 

" **Come on!** ," Esther's voice shrieked, her grip on her arm hard, nails digging into her flesh as she yanked on her limb, "We need to get out of here!"

 

Launa silently agreed, whipping her head around to find Mitch and Kirstie. "Get them up," she told the other woman, "Let's move."

______

 

She wasn't entirely sure what to expect. This was nothing like she'd been familiar with. After all, by the time she'd come to the first time around, everyone had fled the city- except for the dead, and Avi.

 

_Where are you? Are you okay?_

A shot of something- something hot and painful that felt like concern and loss- spiked through her chest. For a moment, she wondered if she might be sick. She pushed it aside, focusing on the task at hand.

 

_Deal with it later._

Gods, there were people _everywhere._ Running, shouting, creating chaos out of an already destructive situation. The quakes had torn buildings and homes asunder, leaving those who'd not been quick enough- or lucky enough- trapped beneath the mixture of old bricks and modern steel girders.

 

Launa didn't realize she'd started to run until the others were calling for her to slow down. "We need to stay together," Esther said, maintaining a pace that was slow enough to bring up the rear of the group, but fast enough to keep up, "We lose each other and we're screwed."

 

"Yeah, sorry," she agreed, flickering her gaze about and gesturing them off to the side so they could all speak, taking refuge against the side of the crumbling street, "I guess I started to panic a little."

 

"Pretty popular reaction, right now," Kirstie piped up, maintaining an almost death-grip on Mitch's hand. The pair of them look terrified, brown eyes wide and entire frames shivering noticeably, "What do we do?"

 

Launa opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Esther's more-sure voice. "We need to get to an emergency center," she nodded toward the straggling survivors of the quake, "they're all going the same way. It'd be a good idea to follow them."

 

"Or," Launa interjected, "they're all heading that direction because it just so happens to be the opposite way of the _giant fucking crack in the middle of Dublin._ "

 

There was a beat of silence. "She has a point," Kirstie said to the eldest woman, nervously tucking a curl behind her ear and holding a finger up to Esther when she began to protest, "But! Getting as far away from that thing is probably the best idea, right?"

 

The foursome glanced around to one another, silently nodding one by one.

 

"Onwards, then," Esther said with a shrug, leading the charge down the street with purpose in her step.

 

Launa swallowed her pride, falling into step behind Kirstie and Mitch. _Now is not the time for ego._

_I really **really** hate working in groups._

_We'll get used to it._

_I really **really** hate walking._

_Well, you've done it before. You can do it again. We'll get used to it._

_Gods, I hope so._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! ♥


	3. Chapter 3

They trudged up the road, slowing with the crowd as they all made their way toward... somewhere. Whether it was an emergency shelter/center of some sort or just simply _away_ from the apparent, immediate source of danger had yet to be determined.

Launa kept on high alert at the back of the group, tensing whenever someone passed by them too closely for her comfort. She found herself reaching for a knife that wasn't there, muscles rigid and ready to strike at the first sign of hostility.

_Still a pack animal._

Ahead of her, Kirstie and Mitch's knuckles were turning white with the grip they held on one another. Off to the side of the street they walked on, a building's last beam gave out, suddenly collapsing. Three of them flinched, startled. Mitch jumped, curling his body away from it and gripping harder on his friend's arm.

Esther glanced over her shoulder at the two behind them, offering them a quiet smile. "It's okay."

She turned again to face ahead, and Mitch gave the briefest, tiniest shake of his head.

______

As much as she loved Ireland, Dublin was a bit more difficult to navigate than Launa found strictly necessary. At least, it was mostly fine when it was in its normal state. But destroyed and in chaos?

_Might as well be a fucking maze._

They asked for help from a local who admitted that he was also simply going with the flow, unsure of what to do. As he went on his way, the four of them shared a horrified look. No one had any idea of where they were going or of what to do.

"Now what?" Kirstie was the first to speak.

An uncomfortable silence followed. Esther reached into her pocket, her face lighting up as she yanked out her cellphone, mumbling "Maybe..." under her breath. Flicking the screen on, her mouth dropped at the corners. "Well, shit."

One by one, Kirstie and Launa tried their own phones. "Service is down," Launa reported, holding hers to her ear as the echoing statement sounded through the speaker on repeat, "At least my carrier is."

"Same here," Kirstie glanced over at the sole male of the group, "Mitchie?" A rather sheepish look crossed his face as he slowly eased his far-bigger-than-necessary-phone from his pants pocket, only to display it crushed and snapped almost completely in half.

"And _that's_ why I will never join the Apple cult," Launa said, nodding toward the destroyed 6+ model. He only narrowed his eyes at her before stuffing the remains back into his pocket.

An hour or so of wandering around later, the foursome found themselves being shuffled off to the side of a building while Esther spoke to someone at a desk of a local emergency homeless shelter. As their luck would have it, they were taking in those who had suddenly found themselves without homes, as well as tourists such as themselves who were now stranded on the island country.

Launa watched in a growing panic as some in-line before Esther were turned away from the desk and trudged out the door. _Please, pleasepleaseplease. Have mercy on us. Our hotel is on the other side of the frickin abyss. Please-_

A tapping on her shoulder broke her thoughts, and she whipped her head around. "Hey," Kirstie greeted quietly, rubbing idly at her hand. She swore she could still see the imprint Mitch's grip had left on her skin. "Are you okay?"

Launa quirked an eyebrow, studying the other woman's face briefly. "Yeah, why?"

"I'm just checking in on ya," she said with a small shrug and an almost bitter twist to her lips as she gestured vaguely to the inside of the community center, "I mean, we've done this twice now. I'm just checking since," she suddenly lowered her voice, barely above a whisper and hardly audibly, "Some of us are handling it better than others."

She didn't miss the way Kirstie darted her eyes off to the side in Mitch's direction. Glancing over the other's shoulder, Launa caught him looking paler and almost more gaunt than usual, skinny arms crossed over himself and staring off at seemingly nothing. _Oh no, he's not doing okay._

_Maybe he just needs some sleep._

_Hell, we could all use some of that._

Brows furrowed slightly, she flicked her eyes back to Kirstie. "What about you? How are you holding up?"

She tugged at and twisted her fingers around her blonde curls and hummed as she thought. "I'm okay, I think," she said, "I'm shaken. I'm _terrified_. I don't know how we're gonna get out of this. But I'm okay, for right now." Kirstie paused for a moment, glancing around for a split second before simply looking upward to the ceiling. "More than anything, I'm thankful that the rest of the crew hadn't flown over here yet and are safe in the states. And I'm worried about the others."

Launa nodded in solemn agreement, looking past her friend as the other bit her lip, clearly upset at the thought. She wasn't ready to deal with this. Not yet. Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes, willing herself cold.

_Because, are they okay? What if they're not? What if that was the last time I'll ever see them?_

_I can't deal with this. Not right now. Focus on the task at hand._

Thankfully, Esther's voice wrenched her from inside her own head. "Good news, guys," she started, "They've got space for us. Be thankful we're not from here. They're making those truly without anywhere to go their number one priority." She crossed her arms loosely over her chest, looking to each of them as she spoke. "They've already filled up hotels and such on this side of the split, but they still have some space for us in this building. It's cramped, but we'll take what we can get. Any questions?"

Launa bit back the urge to snort at the fact that the older woman was still in what appeared to be 'tour manager mode'. _No, y'know- that's probably just her way of dealing with this whole situation._

________

Was the situation ideal? No. Was it comfortable? _Hell no._ But it was two beds, both in frames with blankets and enough space to put what little belongings they still had- mostly consisting of purses and 'fashionable' bags- against the wall, and was accompanied by a tiny sink.

_It's certainly better than nothing._

The four of them squeezed in two to a bed- Kirstie with Mitch and Launa with Esther- but stayed awake and alert for several hours, talking amongst themselves.

"What's the plan, tomorrow?" Kirstie asked, twisting the thin sheets between her fingers.

Esther and Launa glanced to one another, considering carefully before answering. "I think," the redhead went first, "It would be best to get our hands on supplies and a map, first. But after that," she paused and shrugged, "I don't know."

"Maybe we should head to the next location we were going to have a show at," Esther offered, "We have to find the others. That may be our best bet."

"Okay, I agree, but how are we gonna get there?" Launa gestured out the window, "The next date was in Scotland, and we had a _flight_ there. The airways aren't going in or out of here anytime soon, so that's a no-go. And I doubt very much that we can take a frickin' ferry across to the the UK."

A tense silence followed, interrupted only by the sound of sheets rustling as Mitch laid down, facing away from the girls. "We'll figure something out," Esther murmured, "We always do."

One by one, they laid down to sleep, trying to get comfortable in the scratchy sheets. Launa laid awake for a long while, fighting with sleep that had remained elusive since Needles. Willed herself to not think about the events of that day. Tried in vain to keep the violent, terrifying images of people falling into the abyss of the widened river and meeting their doom at the bottom. Prayed that the other three were not among the injured or dead.

She didn't pray often. After all, it wasn't usual for anyone to listen. She held her breath, tugged at her hair by the roots as tears threatened to spill from behind her eyes. _Nonono. Keep it together._ Drawing in shaky breaths, Launa slowly calmed herself and dipped into the routines she'd set for herself to put herself on the path for sleep.

Sleep felt like it would never come. And then, all at once, she fell into unconsciousness.

On the other side of the wrenched-apart River Liffey, three young men sat huddled together, exhausted with frayed nerves, hatching their own attack plan on the new apocalypse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! ♥


	4. Chapter 4

The quake had hit Dublin with hardly any warning. He'd been used to quiet, cautionary rumblings before the main one hit. But this? One moment he was fine, talking and walking to their sight-seeing destination, stopping into a little shop along the way. The next, he was blinking back into full consciousness, wondering what the hell had hit him on the back of the head and taking a moment to realize that it had been the floor.

The quake jerked the ground out from under their feet, and what had been a nice, calm day suddenly exploded into crumbling and shaking chaos.

Avi's world tilted and spun, the impact of his head with the floor knocking his equilibrium off. His ears filled with a high-pitched ringing as he grappled to find steady earth. Fingers brushing into debris and hissing at the unpleasant scrape of his nails against a brick. He blinked blearily, feeling sluggish and like nothing was quite _real._

Hands shook him at the shoulder, pulling, tugging him upward and forcing him unsteadily onto his feet. "C'mon," the voice attached to those hands urged, sounding familiar but not settling correctly into his brain, "We've gotta get outta here! Move Avi, let's go!"

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, looking around in what felt like slow motion to find the source of the voice. Shook his head to clear it and touched his hair under his beanie to check for blood. His hand remained clean. _Who is that?_

The hands tugged on him again and, with a clearer head, he turned to find Kevin pulling desperately at his arm and away from where the roof of the shop began to cave in. "Come _on,_ " he urged again, and finally, Avi responded like he knew he should, quickly following his best friend out of the building.

What felt like a metric tonne of adrenaline dumped into his system as they darted out onto the street, dodging the pedestrians who were sprinting past them and seemingly headed all in one direction. "Where's Scott?" he asked aloud, looking around in a panic, trying to find the last of their trio while maintaining his balance. The earth seemed determined to throw them back onto their asses.

The pair of them scanned the mass of people until finally, the missing young man collided into Kevin from behind. "I was just trying to get coffee," he rambled, gesturing wildly, "I was just triyng to get a fuckin' coffee and _this_ happens I'm-"

Scott was cut off as the ground gave another violent heave and an almost deafening crunching noise sounded a few streets over. Ice dropped into Avi's stomach.

_I know that sound._

Turning back to glance at his friends, the three men shared a silent, fearful look before he turned and sprinted in the opposite direction of the crowd, trusting that they'd be close behind him. They didn't have to go far.

Upon reaching one of the bridges that reached over River Liffey, the three of them skidded to a stop and could do nothing but look on in horror. The bridges had collapsed. The river had widened and flooded with sea water, forced apart and swallowing up debris of the buildings nearby. Avi squeezed his eyes shut as a straggler fell over the edge, plummeting into the depths below.

_No no no no no no. **The rest of them were headed to the other side, today.**_

Scott swore aloud. "Kirstie, Mitch, and Esther and Launa," he said, his voice shaking, "They're on the other side, aren't they?"

He fought the urge to clock the blonde in the jaw for stating the obvious, instead turning his focus to the edges of the split. "There's gotta be something," he mumbled, darting his gaze around and walking along the edge, "There's gotta be. There _has_ to be something to get us across."

"Who whoa whoa," Kevin patted his shoulder, "There's _no way_ we're getting across this."

Avi whipped his head around, to stare the other down. He could feel himself beginning to snap and snarl, his temper splintering and threatening to lash out. "Watch me," he spat, stopping short and growling low in his throat when his friend maintained a grip on his arm.

"Yeah, watch you hurt and kill yourself," he retorted, tightening his grip when the other made to pull away, "C'mon man. We've gotta get away from here. We can't help them if we're hurt or dead, right?"

He flickered his gaze over Kevin before searching the edges of what was left of the river, realizing he'd been breathing hard and clenching his fists. Uncurling his fingers, he ran the tips of them over the indentations his nails had left in the flesh of his palms.  The earth gave another sickening roll, and the crack next to them groaned and creaked.

"This thing could keep getting bigger, too," Scott piped up, drawing closer to the other two, "It's safer if we get away from it."

Silently, Avi nodded and began to move away, giving one last look over his shoulder with a furrowed brow. _Please be okay. Please._

______

The rest of the city, at least what they saw of it, wasn't promising. Buildings had completely collapsed down to their foundations, pieces of them strewn across the street. Survivors wandered seemingly aimlessly. Upon really observing and tentatively asking, it became clear that no one really knew where to go or what to do.

"Let's find a homeless shelter, or emergency center," Kevin suggested, "Or a church. _Somebody's_ gotta be helping the people who are stranded in this town."

Avi sighed heavily. _'Stranded'._ The word didn't set well in his bones. It hung heavy on his shoulders and his legs already ached at the mere memory of the last time that word applied to him. _I don't know how I'm gonna do this again._

_I have to._

_Yeah, but **how**?_

He resisted the urge to tug on his hair as he brought up the rear behind Scott and Kevin. _This is all wrong. It wasn't supposed to go like this, dammit. We were supposed to do our own things today, meet up with the rest of the crew, and then we were supposed to try to start working things out, tonight-_ He drew in a shaky breath and held it tight behind his teeth. Panic creeped at the edges of his nerves. Heart thudded too fast against his ribcage. _Deep breaths, Kaplan. Calm down. Freaking out is **not** going to help._

_Things happen for a reason. There's a reason you were sitting the way you were in the car back then, and there was a reason you were by yourself in Colorado when the quakes hit, there. It'll be okay. It'll be okay. It'll be okay. It **has** to be okay._

Avi didn't realize he'd slowed his pace to a crawl until Kevin's hand found his back, quietly urging him forward. "We'll be alright, man," the older man told him, voice quiet, "We're supposed to be here and do this."

He let his hands drop to his sides, not daring to meet his friend's eyes. Not daring to breathe aloud his fear.

_But what if it's not meant to work out in a happy ending?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! ♥


	5. Chapter 5

“Well, shit.”

“Language, Scotty.”

The three men stood where the hotel they had already checked into had once stood, now shaken down to its foundation. Employees milled around, trying to clean up as much as they could, to no avail. One woman spotted the trio and carefully approached them. “Were you a guest with us?”

“Yeah,” Kevin sighed, “We were all up on the third floor. There’s no chance that our stuff survived, is there?”

The woman’s apologetic expression said all she needed to.

 ______

“At least you didn’t have Beyoncè with you,” Avi said, resting his elbows on his knees as they sat on the curb across from the destroyed hotel. He caught Scott frowning and turning to say something out of the corner of his eye. “The cello.”

“That’s true, I guess,” Kevin agreed, resting his chin in his hand, “And at least it’s just us, right now. Everyone else’s flight over here should be cancelled.”

Scott looked over at the other two, his voice quiet. “They’re all gonna be safe.”

Avi sighed and pulled the beanie from his head, swiping his hand through his hair. They remained silent and still for a moment longer before he pulled himself to his feet, replacing the garment on his head. “We’ve got to get moving,” he said to no one in particular. The feeling of defeat had become palpable amongst them, shoulders slumping at the loss of any hope of regaining any of their belongings. “We’ve had way worse,” he continued, “We’ve got this.”

Kevin nodded and stood to join him, both turning and waiting for Scott to follow suit. “Y’all don’t think we have any cell service, do you?” He didn’t wait for either of them to answer before yanking his phone out of his pocket, wrinkling his nose a moment after turning the screen on. “I don’t have _anything_.”

Both of the others checked their own, Kevin groaning aloud as he pulled out his own severely crushed phone. Avi confirmed no service on his, either.

“So,” Scott started, “We’re separated from our friends and family, our stuff’s lost and probably destroyed, no cell phone service, _and_ we’re on an island country. I don’t  think it-”

“Don’t you say it,” Avi warned him, jabbing a finger at him, “Don’t you fucking say it.”

A squawk sounded from the eldest. “ _Language!_ ”

A silence fell on the three of them, the urge to finish the sentence almost visible in Scott’s face as he clenched his teeth, jaw held tightly closed. Without another word, he stood with his friends and they started down the street, hoping to come across a shelter for the evening.

Scott’s whisper was barely audible. “-Can get any worse.”

“If you just jinxed us, I swear to God that I will punch you in the face.”

_Luck is on our side, today. For once._

_Thank goodness._

With some directions from helpful locals, the three of them had found themselves on the doorstep of a homeless shelter about a mile from where River Liffey used to be. Much to their relief, the people working there still had plenty of room available. “There’s only two beds,” the young man helping them had warned, “And that’s all I have. Will that be workable for you, lads?”

At that point, they really didn’t care. Kevin had called his own bed the first chance they got. _Which makes more sense anyway. I’ve seen Kev sleep. He sprawls somethin’ terrible._

Avi leaned against the wall with his friends on either side of him, all three trying to occupy themselves with something while they waited for the room to become available. Each of them were guilty of occasionally reaching into their pockets to retrieve their useless phones, sliding them away only a moment later.

“Do you kick?” Avi asked, unable to draw up the energy to turn his head to speak to the youngest man.

There was a beat of silence. “What?”

“In your sleep. Do you kick?” Another moment of silence. “I’m just asking since you’re stuck with me, tonight.”

“I don’t think so,” Scott answered after one more long moment, “Do you?”

He shrugged. “I’m pretty sure not. I would’ve heard about it if I did.” He rubbed his hands over his face, sighing quietly. He felt absolutely exhausted. Any energy that had been there at the beginning of the day or even when the quakes were smacking into the city had been drained almost entirely from his system.

_I could go for a light coma right about now._

_I miss our bed._

_Oh man, what I wouldn’t give for this all to be just a really bad dream and just wake up, and be either back in the hotel or back home with Launa-_

Avi’s stomach twisted almost painfully. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back against the wall, silently wishing he knew how the other group was doing. Were they okay? Were they hurt? How were they holding up? Did they find someplace safe to stay for the evening?

A quick glance to either side revealed the same thing: His friends, exhausted, eyes closed in silent concentration and prayer as they waited. A small sense of comfort settled in his chest. _I’m so glad that none of us are alone._

________

The room was, without a doubt, tiny. Itty bitty.

Not that they were complaining, mind you. They were thankful that they had a room, especially since the sun had started to set and give way to darkness. Avi couldn’t help but snort inwardly as he thought _this must be what sardines feel like._ Their three pairs of broad shoulders fit awkwardly into the space, and not without bumping into one another regularly.

Kevin sprawled over his equally small bed, letting out a groan as they all settled in for the evening. They were relatively silent, save for the grunts and huffs as they attempted to get comfortable. Scott grumped briefly about the bed not being quite long enough for his legs, but fell asleep soon after crawling under the covers and teasing Avi not to hog them. Kevin was asleep just a few moments after silence truly fell in the room.

Avi sucked in a sharp breath as he gingerly touched the edges of what felt like the forming of a large bruise  on the back of his head, gently combing his hair away from it in an attempt to truly gauge the damage. _I still remember my whole name, my address, my parents and siblings’ names, who’s president and all that. I’m not dizzy, either, so I’m probably not concussed. There’s a plus._

He didn’t remember laying down or getting under the covers. But he must have, and he must have begun to dream, because Avi suddenly found himself in the southwest of the U.S.

_This is definitely not right. I was just in Ireland._

Squinting his eyes against the low desert sun, he glanced around for any sign of life. _This is nice and confusing._

“Avi?”

He whipped his head around, a smile instantly stretching across his lips. Launa stood a short distance away, looking very much like she did when they first met- long hair braided into a tail that fell to her waist, dirt smeared across her face with an almost perpetual grump in the lines of her mouth and eyebrows. And suddenly, he was keenly aware of how much he missed her.

“Hey, baby,” he greeted, taking a step in her direction, “What are we doing back here?”

She pulled at the hem of her sleeveless shirt, eyebrows furrowing. “You shouldn’t come any closer,” she warned him, “It’s too soon. Things are still unsteady after that.”

As if in response to her words, the dirt under his boot shifted ominously. He froze, ice slipping into his stomach. “Okay,” he breathed, locking his green eyes with hers, “What do we do? I need to get over there.”

“It’s not a push or pull from either side, Avi,” she responded, crossing her arms over her chest and scuffing one boot against the ground, “We have to meet in the middle.”

“Then why aren’t you moving?,” Avi’s voice was sharper than he meant it to be,  a hot rush of anger slicing through his bloodstream, “We can’t if we don’t _both_ try.”

Launa remained frozen in her spot, casting her eyes down to the dirt at his feet, her voice quiet as she spoke again. “Look out, below.”

He barely had time to ponder her words before the ground came out from under his feet, a deafening cracking sound ringing in his ears as he dropped, shouting out his alarm and grappled to the side of the split. “Launa!” he called out, fingers shaking with the effort to hold up his weight against the pull of the abyss below, “Launa, help me!”

She peered over the edge, calm but concerned. “I don’t know how, Avi,” she said. She heaved a quiet sigh and, to his horror, disappeared behind the edge of the crack, leaving only an angry red-orange sky above him.

The rocks beneath his fingers disintegrated. He slipped, trying desperately to heave himself up. Gravity won the battle, and he plummeted down.

Avi jerked himself awake, gasping for air, heart thudding rapidly in his chest. _Holy shit._

His two companions remained blissfully unaware of his distress, even as he sat up and ran shaking hands over his face. Desperately trying to regain control of his erratic breathing, he hunched over to lean his bony elbows onto his knees, willing the anxiety and reminder of the trauma he thought he was over to leave him.

_I’m really not loving this part. It can stop, now._

After about an hour of slowly calming himself, Avi shakily laid back down, facing the wall and away from his friends, gripping the sheets with a white-knuckle grip. He chased sleep with little luck for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! ♥


	6. Chapter 6

**13 months earlier**

The celebrations of deciding upon a European leg of tour had just begun to end, and Avi grinned into his glass, pushing away the stressful thoughts of how on earth they were going to plan it. Pentatonix was doing well. _Really_ well, even despite the fact that he disappeared to the North for months at a time to be with Launa and her family.

It worked for them, this travelling back and forth. He and the others were still able to work together over the internet, now that networks were back up and running, and he was able to squeeze in as much work as humanly possible while they were in LA. And work, they did. The five of them worked their proverbial asses off at their job, and each day it seemed as though each of them went home with a smile.

It seemed, anyway.

Avi heaved a sigh as he headed for the little apartment that they called home when he and Launa were in town. Glancing up, he hesitated in his footsteps toward the main front door of the building. The light was on upstairs. She was still awake, no doubt still trying to exhaust herself into sleep.

Nightmares still woke her up with an almost alarming frequency, still had her screaming in her sleep and fighting off people who weren't there, still had her shaking and curling in on herself, muttering about blood.

Sweeping the beanie off his head, he scratched one hand through his hair. Living with Launa was edging on stressful. He tried cheerful conversation much of the time, which more often than not seemed to only make things worse. She snapped, barely short of snarling and sometimes outright ignored him when he spoke.

Avi tried to reason with her. God knows he tried. He was starting to find himself at his wit's end.

This was not the woman he'd fallen in love with, not who he'd risked life and limb to travel with all the way from Colorado to California. This is not the woman who goaded him into dancing to songs from a radio on the back of a truck in the middle of an abandoned town.

_This is the woman who killed for me._

The thought was disturbing, and his blood ran cold even as he let himself into the building and ascended the stairs to their apartment. _What if this is just a product of what happened, before?_ Blowing out another sigh, Avi tugged the hat back onto his head and briefly over his eyes. _Just do as you always do. This can't last forever._

Glancing over at the little black '6' that hung beside their door, he drew in a deep breath, steadying himself before letting himself into the front room. The sight that greeted him was not an unfamiliar one- Launa was curled into a ball in the corner of the couch, knees tucked up to her chest and a blanket curled around her shoulders and legs as she stared blankly ahead at whatever was on the TV.

"Hey," he greeted quietly, smiling when she flicked her green gaze over to him, "Sorry I'm so late. We were figuring out tour stuff."

"No problem," she responded, her voice almost flat as she ran a hand through her dark red hair, "I kinda figured it was something like that."

He edged his way around their tiny coffee table to sit next to her, the couch groaning somewhat under the weight as he leaned over to kiss her cheek. Much to his relief, she smiled in response, reaching out to briefly touch his curls and the back of his neck. "We decided," he started, encouraged at her positive responses so far, "that we're going to do a European leg of tour."

"Yeah?" she turned her whole body to lean against the arm of the couch and face him, something akin to excitement writing itself into her features despite the dark circles under her eyes, "Where all you gonna go?"

Avi shrugged. "We're not sure yet, but," he paused from dramatic effect, quirking an eyebrow at her, "I'm pretty sure that Baker Street and the Louvre can definitely be places on the list to visit while we're there." With an almost childish delight, he watched as Launa's face lit up for the first time in months. "What do you say, Red? Still want to see the world with me?"

Grinning widely now, she leaned forward. “Fuck, yeah!”

 ______

The excitement only lasted about a day or so, until Launa fell back the funk she’d been in. Avi wondered if it was depression, given some of her behavior. She wandered through the motions, going about her day on what appeared to be auto-pilot. He still tried to make her feel better, make her hopeful for the future.

“So,” he started quietly as they laid under the sheets one night, fully flat on his back as she sat upright and reading, “Scott showed us photos of his nephew, today. He’s so tiny and cute-“

“I don’t want to hear it, Avriel,” she snapped, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Avi sighed heavily. “I’m just trying to-“

“Trying to make me do something I don’t want to do.”

He turned and propped himself up on his elbow, a frown wrinkling his brow. “I’m _trying_ to have you think about something good or happy,” he argued, “I’m trying to cheer you up.”

The stare she gave him was freezing cold. “That won’t do it, and you know it.”

“Launa,” he sighed again, reaching out to touch her shoulder as she tossed her book onto the nightstand and turned away from him to lay down, only to have his hand shrugged off, “Please.”

“Good night, Avi.”

She flicked the lamp off, plunging the room into darkness, the only sounds between them the rustling of sheets. As he settled back down onto his back, silence weighed heavily on his chest, seeming to wrap itself around his throat.

_I just want to make you happy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your patience and, as always, thank you so much for reading! ♥


	7. Natural Disaster Universe Final Chapter: Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've stated this a couple of times on my Tumblr: I cannot continue this story. Due to extremely personal reasons, my heart just isn't in it to make this story end happily- or to slog through it at all. I guess it can be most easily explained as, well, the me who wrote Natural Disaster is not here anymore. I wish I could give you the story you guys deserve, but faking can only get me so far. 
> 
> Basically, Cracked revealed that the issues between Launa and Avi were based almost exclusively in the fact that he wanted kids and she didn't. At the end of it all, when the two groups meet back up, they promise to try to make it work- to get their happy ending.
> 
> I hope that this last piece helps show what kind of relationship they have, and what consequences can come of a relationship built on life and death situations- but what hope there also is. I love you guys so much. Thank you for following the story to the very end. ♥

She first heard it in the car with a friend, their mp3 player bringing the first few notes rumbling through the car’s speakers, layered with the baritone voice on top.

The melody of their voices flowed together, the force of the bassline and beat so hard underneath that it felt like they could break the frame of the car. And there it was.

Tiny wisps of gold shaking from the speakers.

Launa felt as though she would vomit.

She had never wanted to see those again, to feel the way that voice slipped into her spinal cord and spread through her veins. She hadn’t wanted to hear what this song was about. Not a single lyrical line, not a note nor beat. None of it. She wanted none of it.

And she was suddenly back in the passenger seat in a vehicle speeding across a desert highway, his laugh wrapping it’s golden tendrils around her throat and squeezing till she couldn’t breathe.

Gods, she hated it. She hated him.

She _wanted_ to hate him.

They’d tried so hard to make things work. He had had his plan for his life set almost in cement, and that didn’t sit well in her bones. They’d tried so hard. But what ultimately broke them- cracked everything apart- was fear. _Her_ fear. He wanted so badly to make a career of the music he and the others made so flawlessly and to build a life and family with her.

A life with him and travelling around the world to all the places his music took him? That she could handle.

It was the thought of being pinned down to some inescapable promise, something that felt so coldly like a prison that sent her running.

_That’s all you do, isn’t it?_

_You just run away. Run run run._

_Run from everything._

_And look what you did: “Your halo’s gone and all I see is horns, and a heart that’s still intact- but mine’s cracked”. Good job. You demonized yourself in the eyes of the best thing that happened to you._

Launa’s eyes went distant, willing herself dead and cold. It was surprisingly easy anymore. _Just shut everything off and nothing can hurt. No one can hurt you without your permission. Ice ice ice. Cold cold cold._

_Nothing hurts._

_Everything is dead._

She wasn’t even sure she could feel her heart beat.  She wondered if it was capable of movement anymore. Decided it would never be worth the risk again.

_Run and be dead._

She wouldn’t fall into an attack until she was safe behind closed doors and under her blanket, facing away from the garnet pendant necklace on her night stand.

 

* * *

 

She wouldn’t listen to their album until a week later. Exhausted and sore from her job, but thankful for the days off, plugging the music into her ears with a shaky, but steadying breath.

The mention of canyons in the 7th track made her breath catch in her throat, wondering if it had anything to do with their past experiences. _Don’t be silly._

She powered through the 9th, squeezing her eyes shut against unwelcome tears.

How many years had they known each other? Launa counted backwards. She was 25 now. 3 years? 4 years? When had the first quake hit Grand Junction? She couldn’t remember for the life of her.

Cracked. She hated the word. It instantly brought to mind the horrible memory of watching him dangling into the center of the world, hands and nails digging into the side of the cracked-open earth and the true terror in his green eyes. Of hauling him out and hearing the ground slam back together behind them in what could have been his death sentence. What could have been hers.

Launa found her hands trembling, not at all unlike the earth back then. She curled her fingers into her shirt as she hugged herself, willing the memory of sleeping with his head on her chest far, far away.

If the 9th had crushed her, the 10th was like being run over with a freight train. She’d always admired the lone girl’s voice. Always wished she could hit those notes, too. _If her voice had a color,_ she thought, _it would be yellow. Or maybe fuschia._

The words of the song made her want to tear her chest open, if only to silence the horrible ache behind her ribcage.

She played it over again despite her better judgement.

And again.

And then the 9th. And then the 10th.

And then 7.

All three in succession.

And somewhere in her delirious brain, it made sense.

She ripped the bedroom of her tiny apartment apart bit by bit, pulling out old sand-soaked bags and throwing an even smaller life into it. Clothes. Food. She imagined the floor rocked beneath her feet.

A knife was slide into her boot. A braid was wound into her hair. A check with enough money for two month’s rent was left on the table. A message was left for her loved ones over voicemail, briefly explaining and promising she’d return.

They’d always survived on fire and hot coals. The heat had always spurred them on.

Maybe what they needed- maybe what they _always_ had needed was water.

 

* * *

 

The journey was scary alone. Her crappy truck broke down halfway through Washington.

She answered worried calls from her mother and grandmother, assuring them she was okay. That this was necessary.

_Just keep running._

_Running is what we do best._

_Just run._

She set up camp one night and hummed the slow, choir-esque song to herself, the memory of their composing it bringing a wistful smile to her lips.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had smiled when no one was around to see.

 

* * *

 

Launa couldn’t quite piece together how she’d come to be here- standing frozen in place on the front step of an apartment complex. The city was in better shape than she remembered. The streets were more easily navigated. They actually had names, again.

She floated like an out-of-body experience up the stairs, yet every step was like the floor was a magnet and her shoes were made of thick metal. Her throat went dry, her palms sweaty.

_What are you doing?_

_What do you hope to accomplish?_

_You fucked everything up. You ran. Do you really think you can make anything better by coming here?_

_What do you think he’ll say?_

_He won’t want to see you._

_He hates you._

_You are disgusting._

_Run away._

_Run the other direction._

_Better to give up than continue on in the hope that you can fix something you cracked yourself._

Launa didn’t breathe, finding herself in front of a door marked with a black **5.** _Always 5._

She _couldn’t_ breathe. Dropped her bags off to the side. Straightened her shirt and jacket to the best of her ability. She’d stayed the night in a motel the night before, so she didn’t absolutely reek. _That’s a blessing at least._

Shook her hands at her sides. Widened her stance for stability. Took a slow, steadying breath. Willed her insides to begin to frost over. _Nothing can hurt if I don’t let it._

Leveled her gaze with the almost-metallic door a foot from her nose. Raised her closed fist. Knocked six times. Ice slipped into her stomach as she could practically hear seconds ticking away in her head.

A voice on the other side of the door. She held her breath.

The door swung open and the young man behind it was not who she expected, but a familiar face all the same. She offered the dark-skinned man  shaky smile as he gave his own confused and almost anxious one. He called over his shoulder.

A deep voice, laced deeply with gold that reverberated like a dragon’s echoed from inside the apartment.

The first man all but scuttled away out of the apartment and down the stairs, leaving her alone at the open doorway, awaiting her fate. Her insides twisted. She felt like she could swallow her tongue. The frost spread in her stomach, crisscrossing their way up her bones and lungs. The air she breathed tasted like snow.

Long strides and boots sounded from within, drawing closer. She briefly considered running and hiding.

_If you go down the stairs now at top speed and left the bags behind, you could make it._

_Then I’ll still be a coward. I won’t have fixed anything._

_You still have time._

_I won’t have even tried. What’s the point of coming all this way if I don’t even try?_

_You’re out of time._

The window from the far wall within the apartment cast a dark shadow, and a broad-shouldered and skinny-legged silhouette stepped into view. He froze as he spotted her.

They stood rooted to the spot, staring one another down. He took long, careful strides toward the door, toward _her_ , his face coming better into view with his fingers curled loosely at his sides.

It was like seeing him for the first time all over again, yet her eyes still followed their usual path over his face: hair, eyebrows, nose, mouth, beard, jaw, ears, eyes. He’d changed, but still somehow remained the same. His face was thinner than she remembered, and he had long-since ditched his hats and instead tied his hair back. Those eyes, though- the startling green of them bore into her with an intensity that rivaled a volcano.

She faintly wondered if he was noting her own changes, or if she even had any. She was suddenly acutely aware of her heartbeat for the first time in nearly a year.

They stood in silence.

There had always been sound. Always talking and laughing and singing.

The silence hung heavy in the air around them.

His eyebrows furrowed, his lovely face falling into a true, genuine frown, his jaw set at a hard angle.

She drew in a breath, the sound deafening in the quiet of the hallway.

Avi spoke first. “It’s raining.” The sound of raindrops on the roof of the complex suddenly came to her attention. She nodded. He snorted and finally turned his gaze from hers, flicking it to the ceiling before closing his eyes and shaking his head. “You always bring me rain.”

“I’m sorry,” Launa breathed, picking at the seams of her jeans, unsure of what else to do with her hands.

He sighed. “Rain is weird,” he started, “Meteorologists think they can predict its patterns and how much rainfall we can expect. But it seems like more often than not, they’re wrong. Rain can bring floods and erosion and general destruction, you know? It can totally and completely fuck up everything that you love and hold dear.”

She listened to Avi speak, her heart sinking as his low voice vibrated the air around them. He dropped his gaze to somewhere over the railing behind her. “But it does good things, too. It brings life where there was none and breaks droughts. It grows things and gives us hope,” he continued, finally bringing his gaze back to hers, “It’s a balancing act. Without it, everything dries up and dies. Too much, and we all drown.”

_Maybe we were never fire._

He seemed to wait for a response. Launa  searched his face, choosing her words carefully. “I don’t want to drown, but I don’t want to dry out,” she started, grasping at straws for the right words.

“What do you want?” Avi asked, the question heavy with multiple meanings.

“I want to float,” she finally answered after a long pause, “I don’t want  irons weighing me down to the bottom.”

He took a slow, tentative step forward. “There doesn’t have to be any,” he cracked a smile, “We can have floaties if that’d make you feel safer.”

She snorted and smiled up at him. “Those are silly.”

Avi considered her statement for a moment. “I absolutely agree,” he said, “Wading pools are safer, anyway.” He leveled his gaze with hers. “What do you think?”

“Yeah,” she agreed, “At least until you’re ready for deeper water.”

He inhaled deeply as a far less tense quiet fell upon them. “You came for me.”

“All the way from the north,” she nodded, wanting to move forward but not wanting to scare him off, “I’m not even sure how I really got here.”

Avi’s expression turned somewhat sad. “What made you come back?”

She flicked her gaze over his face, the urge to embrace him almost overwhelming. _What did it? Tell him the truth._ A small smile etched across her lips. “I heard you sing.”

A long moment of silence filled the space of the hallway before Avi closed the gap between them, standing almost chest to chest, his fists clenched at his sides. “I missed you,” he breathed.

“I missed you, too,” Launa replied, fighting the urge to slip her hands into his, craving the warmth of him. All at once, she wished the frost that spread itself under her ribs to thaw, “I’m so sorry that I hurt you.”

He shook his head, a frown working into his brows. “I’m sorry that I made you run.”

“You didn’t make me do anything,” she argued, “I could have been a grown-up about it, but I ran.”

“We both made bad decisions,” he said, “I pushed for something you don’t want and, as much as I hate to admit it, logically fought against me on. Running probably was not the greatest reaction,” he paused for a moment, “But I can’t say I blame you.”

“I do,” Launa pressed, “I blame me.”

He let out a long sigh. “We’re always gonna be at an impasse on this,” he said, “Can we just… wade?” His meaning hit her hard and she inhaled deeply, taking in his familiar scent. “I mean,” he started again, “I’d rather drown with you. But-“

“We already sunk to the bottom before, Avi,” she interrupted, cutting herself off before she could elaborate. Sinking and drowning hadn’t done anything good to either of them. “Wading is good step.”

Slowly, tentatively, Launa reach out and touched the zipper of his jacket, testing the waters, watching his hands raise out of the corners of her eyes. His hands wrapped around the backs of her arms, sliding across her back and drawing her into him as she fought not to cry with relief. She briefly touched the front of his shirt, feeling the warmth there before wrapping her arms around him, shocked to feel his lips press against her hairline.

They stood like that for what felt like an hour, simply leaning into one another. The heat of him ate into the ice she’d built up in her chest, replacing it with something she’d forgotten how to feel: Alive.

Months later, it rained when he asked if she wanted to join them on tour. It rained the first time she saw him sing lead on stage with a Southwestern background on the screen behind them.

It poured when they dove in head-first again. But this time, they knew how to swim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you so much for reading. I'm so sorry that I couldn't give you the story that I wanted to. But, I cannot wait to write for you again.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and for loving Launa and Avi's story. I am forever grateful. ♥

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! ♥


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